Railway system



(No Model.)

B. M. BOYNTON.

RAILWAY SYSTEM.

Patented D0. 4, 1888.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EBEN MOODY BOYNTON, OF \VEST NEVBURY, MASSACHITSET S.

RAILWAY SYSTEM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 394,055, dated December4, 1888.

Application filed November 14, 1887. Serial No. 255,053. (No model.)Patented in England March 8, 1887; in Spain June 2, 1887; in BelgiumJune 30,1887; in France August 30, 1887; in Brazil October 13, 1887; inAustria-Hungary October 80, 1887 in Norway December 22, 1887; in NewSouth Wales March 7, 1888; in Victmia March 7, 1888; in New ZealandMarch 7,

1888, and in India April 2, 1888.

. To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EBEN MOODY BOYN- TON, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Vest Newbury, in the county of Essex and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inRailway Systems, (patented in England March 8,1887; Belgium June 80,1887; Brazil October 13, 1887; Norway December 1887; Victoria March7,1888; lndia April 2, 18 Spain June 2, 1887; France August 30, 1887;Austria- Hungary October 30, 1887; Jew South \Vales March 7, 1888, andNew Zealand March 7 1888;) and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invent-ion, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same.

The said invention relates to railways, the leading principle of whichis a single line of supporting-rails below and a single line ofguiding-rails overhead, the rolling-stock being adapted to run on saidupper and lower rails, the overhead guide-rail being employed to retainthe train upon the sup )orting-rail. The rolling-stock is preferablyconstructed of such a width as to allow the trains to pass each other inthe same or opposite directions, when running on the two parallel railsof an ordinary railway, without change of gage, thus converting what isnow termed a single-line to a double-line railway. This constructionenables me to utilize the existing railways for my rolling-stock whilethe road is still being used with the present tem, and old-style carsmay be gradually replaced to avoid loss. The overhead guiderail isplaced out of reach of the existing 10- comotives and cars. Theconstruction of the road-bed may be of any suitable description. A firmsupport should be placed directly under the rails, and in adapting anordinary railway to my system a girder properly supported may be placedunder the sleepers. The present style of rails may be employed; but theshape may be varied to suit existing conditions, and when rails are madeespecially for my system they may be lighter, and 1 con sider that around-headed rail is preferable.-

The overhead guide-rail may be placed in a V-shaped girder, ifpreferred, to insure the safety of the train in case the supportingrailshould settle sufficient] y at any point to allow the guiding-wheels toleave the guiderail. This guide-rail on the straight line or tangent isplaced, preferably, immediately over the supporting-rail; but aroundcurves it is placed in such a position as to preserve the equilibrium ofthe train, thereby preventingin a greatmeasure the friction that wouldbe generated if the guide-rail was immediately over the sup1mrting-rail. To secure the perpendicularposition of the train withsuitable detlcction at the curves and to prevent its leaving the trackare the objects sought wherever the guiding-rail is placed. The drivingand supporting wheels of the locomotive and the wheels of the cars aredouble flanged to embrace the track. The form of the groove may bevaried somewhat to adapt the wheels to existing conditions, the objectbeing to avoid any danger of the wheel leaving the track and to securethe requisite ad hesion to enable the locomotive to draw the train. Theoverhead guide-wheels are also preferably provided with deep flanges,

springs, and side safety-wheels, in order that any sinking of thebed-track may not cause the wheels to leave the track. Spiral springsare used to keep the guiding-wheels in contact with the overhead rail,and springs are provided to cushion the supporting-wheels.

The construction of my novel system will now be more particularlydescribed in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 a transverse section of a single line of bicycle-railway. Fig.2 is a similar view, on a larger scale, showing another form ofsupporting frame; Fig. 3, a plan view showing a portion of theswitchingail; Fig. 4, a transverse section showing the switching device;and Fig. 5 is a plan view of a portion of a line at the curves orswitches.

The structures shown in Figs. 1 and 2 are designed for light trains, andare made, preferably, of iron or steel.

The structure shown in Fig. 1 consists of arms or frames B, secured to arow of spiles,

A These arms or frames 13 are preferably constructed with sockets B tofit over the spiles, and are secured thereto by bolts, and upon thespiles themselves there is laid a continuous line of stringers, A towhich the lower supportingrails are secured. These stringers areembraced by sockets B ,as shown, and are firmly secured tosupporting-flanges b. The upper stringer, A, is secured to the frame Bin alsimilar manner.

The structure shown in Fig. 2 consists of a steel rail, 0, bent in sucha form as to completely encircle the train. For this purpose old anddiscarded rails can be used to great advantage, iher. b 7 securing acheap and light structure of great strength. The ends of this rail arebolted to the spiles and are secured to the socket B by means of curvedfislrplates C the socket being securely fastened to the spiles. Thesockets are formed of semicircular metal plates cast to fit the groovesof a T-rail, and when bolted together clasp the posts between them andfit into the grooves of the T-rail on each side, and are held togetherby bolts passing through the plates and rail, as shown. The sockets haveflanges (fiwhich embrace the supporting-stringer A, on which the lowerrails are laid. The top stringer, A to which the guiding-rail is securedby bolts or in any other suitable manner, is the same as in the otherforms.

In 3 and 4 is shown a siding or switch track connecting with the mainline for the purpose of switching trains. The switch device moves thesupporting and guiding rails simultaneously and equally, and without adevice of this character switching on my system would be difficult, it"not impracticable. The switch consists of compound levers G G G pivotedat their extremities. These levers are hinged, as shown, at theirfulcrums g g g and the lever G is drawn outward and upward by theswitchman when it is desired to connect the side track or tracks withthe main track to switch a train, and by reversing this movement theswitch-rails are placed in position for the passage of trains on themain line, the compound levers G G G operating over their fulcrums g g gto open or close the switch.

Fig. 3 shows the relative position of the main and side tracks when theswitch is disconnected from the main line. This arrangement not beingmaterially different in principle from those now in use, no detaildescrip tion is necessary.

Fig. 5 shows the position relative to each other of the upper and lowerrails of the track Vhile on a straight line in turning curves.

the upper stringer, A is by preference in a vertical plane with thelower stringer, A. Upon curves the top rail must be more or lessdeflected to secure smooth running of the train, as shown in thedrawings. This deflection must be sufficient to overcome centrifugalforce of the train acting outward, and by tilting the train inward theequilibrium or balance is maintained.

The relative position of the rails most desirable for the curves dependsupon the radius of the curve and the desired speed of the train. Thisrelative position of the rails prevents pressure of the inner flange ofthe wheels, thus rendering the highest rate of speed on abicycle-railway not only possible, but practical and safe.

Having thus described my invention, I

claim 1. A railway structure consisting of curved arms or frames havingsockets B, adapted to fit over spiles and bolted thereto, and stringersA and A secured to the bottom and top of said frames, to which the railsare attached.

2. A railway structure consisting of rails C, curved so as to encirclethe train, the ends of said rails being secured to sockets placed uponspiles, a stringer, and a line of track being provided at the top andbottom of said structure within the curve.

3. In a railway structure sockets B, having flanges C in combinationwith bent rails O, and curved fish-plates C 4. In a railway structure,the combination, with spiles A, and sockets B, having flanges C ofcurved rails O, fish-plates O and the top and bottom stringers, A and A5. In a railway structure, supporting and guiding rails a and a, incombination with a system of compound levers G, G, and G pivoted to saidrails and to each other, so that both upper and lower rails may be movedsimultaneously.

6. The combination, with the supportingrail and the guide-rail, ofcompound levers G G G fulcrumed at g g 9 substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

7. In a railway system, the combination, with a single supporting-rail,of a single guiderail deflected from the vertical plane at curves,whereby the centrifugal force of trains is overcome by tilting thetrains inward.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.EBEN MOODY BOYNTON.

WVitnesses:

ALBERT K. OWEN, EDWD. M. HUSSEY.

